Wind and solar energy share to reach 3% in Kazakhstan

Follow-up

Speaking about Kazakhstan's strive to develop alternative energy sources Minister of Environmental Protection Nurgali Ashim said that the government has a certain plan to develop wind and solar energy.

“GDP energy intensity will be decreased by 25 percent and the share of alternative energy sources will increase by 3 percent,” Ashim said without mentioning any dates.

He emphasized that the conditions for development of wind and solar energy in the country are not very attractive: “The conditions are average. There are areas in Kazakhstan with good strong winds and there are some areas with no winds at all. The ocean shores have better conditions than those here in Kazakhstan.”

Nurgali Ashim explained how the solar energy scheme will work in Kazakhstan: “The issue is that the cost of solar energy is higher that of coal. For example, this is how it is done in Germany: you buy a solar panel and register it. But since you cannot keep the condenser of the battery at home, your solar panel works, but you use the city's network as an accumulator. You pass the energy you generate into the city network. This solar energy is more expensive than the normal one, but the network is obliged to buy it from you. In this case you investments will get paid off in about ten years. We had to adopt a similar law in Kazakhstan. If you buy a solar panel in Kazakhstan, local network has to accept it. You do not need energy during the day and at night you buy it at a normal cost. This is the difference. Both wind and solar energies are more expensive than coal; nuclear energy will be more expensive in any way.”